Protests & Violence, Taking Shots

Sunday Solutions — Jan. 25, 2026

Good morning! While most of Coastal Georgia is isolated from the throes of Winter Storm Fern, it’s not so detached from national news or from policy discussions on immigration, taxes, health care costs and the lessons of the past. All of that comes home in today’s report. Let’s take a look.

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NEWS: GOVERNING

Shooting draws protest

Hours after the fatal shooting of another protester by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, more than 600 demonstrators gathered Saturday in downtown Savannah under gray, blustery skies to denounce the Trump administration for what they said were its cruel and authoritarian policies, starting with immigration. The protest had already been scheduled before the shooting in Minneapolis but the shadow cast by Saturday’s bloodshed in Minnesota meant the mood of the protesters at this demonstration may have been the gravest so far.

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A pause on building for Sapelo

The McIntosh County Commission voted Thursday to put an emergency 30-day pause on any building in the Gullah Geechee enclave of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island. 
The area may have no building rules at the moment, as voters last week repealed the county’s 2023 rules.  Read the county’s draft resolution (note that the pause was cut from 60 days to 30 days before passage)  or check out Mary Landers’ full report on the yearslong controversy over what’s to be built in Hogg Hummock.

— Maggie Lee

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NEWS: HEALTH

Another vaccine discussion

Measles have returned to the state, and at least one case is in Coastal Georgia, according to the state Department of Public Health. For those who remember the measles or the MMR vaccine for kids, it’s time to check your own status. The virus, which spreads through the air, can remain in a room for 2 hours. It’s dangerous for children and older people. Here’s some info on the threat from a GPB News interview with an expert at Emory University. We also found a good explainer this week about the changes in the vaccine guidelines for children and it explains what the various shots actually prevent and lets you decide the risks. It’s at this link from KFF Health News.

The measles virus is not the only health care challenge the state faces. This week in the legislature, chiefs for Georgia’s departments of Community Health, Rural Health, Human Services, Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and Family and Child Services described their needs for this year’s budget and the deficits. After tallying federal cuts, it’s a tough ride ahead. Read the story from their presentations here.

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NEWS: UPDATES

The 44%

Legislators bring the attention-grabbing weapons when midterm and state elections arrive. And it’s worth noting that more than a few General Assembly members are seeking higher office in November. One vociferous push this session is to completely erase individual state income taxes — 44% of the state budget. Other efforts look at property taxes, exemptions, tax credits and types of refunds. The Current‘s data reporter, Maggie Lee, took a look at what comes in from where and some of the proposals on the table. The question: If you take nearly half the revenue away, can the state operate? After all, it’s better to understand the issues before they — and you — vote. Here’s her report.

Also this week:

• Georgia taxpayers will get money back for contributions to K-12 private school scholarships: The new federal plan allows up to $1,700 in tax credits. From Capitol Beat.

• Fate of ballot QR codes in Georgia unclear as deadline for their removal looms: A state law says voting systems can’t relay on scans of codes, but the move hasn’t been funded and can’t be implemented without new equipment. From Georgia Recorder.

• Federal judge blocks DOJ bid for Georgia voter data: The ruling says the US Justice Department filed the lawsuit in the wrong city — the data files don’t live in Macon. From Georgia Recorder.

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

☕ Your second cup: A buffet

Or, maybe we should call it Potluck. This week we had so many interesting candidates, that we’re giving you some choices. Here’s your menu:

•  Rural communities stand with Somali-American, other vulnerable citizens amid ICE siege on Minnesota: Small towns step up to protect their legal neighbors from harassment. From The Daily Yonder.

• What a US military base lost under Greenland’s ice sheet reveals about the island’s real strategic importance: In 1959, the US dug a base into the ice and by 1966 we’d learned some lessons about the conditions and left it. Would a warming world make it easier to move back in and take advantage of what’s there? This one’s an audio adventure.

• ‘We want you arrested because we said so’ – how ICE’s policy on raiding whatever homes it wants violates a basic constitutional right, according to a former federal judge: A primer on the Fourth Amendment and how it protects us all. From The Conversation

• Raccoons break into liquor stores, scale skyscrapers and pick locks – studying their clever brains can clarify human intelligence, too: A palate cleanser from a behavioral neuroscientist writing for The Conversation.

Enjoy your week.

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